A Stand-Up Guy
That’s how agent Jeff Smith remembers rider Parker Buckley, who died Tuesday afternoon following a training accident, to the Saratogian:
“I’m in disbelief,” said Jeff Smith, Buckley’s former agent. “I had him his last two years at Finger Lakes and at Tampa Bay Downs. We lived together in Florida. He was a stand-up guy, clean cut, never drank. He took care of himself. He’d do anything for the horses. Something like this, it’s terrible.”
A former jockey with 947 wins and more than $9.2 million in earnings, Buckley, 40, was an exercise rider for trainer Steve Asmussen; Pyro was one of the horses he regularly rode. On Monday, while galloping a horse over Oklahoma, Buckley was thrown, or fell, from his mount. Accident details are sketchy. “I’ve heard all kinds of versions,” said Asmussen, who declined to name the horse involved. What’s not uncertain is that the respected Buckley will be missed. “Parker was very passionate about his job,” said assistant trainer Scott Blasi. “He was a talented horseman.”
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